Protests against North Korean rocket launch

Police were put under pressure by protesters in South Korea angry at a planned rocket launch by its neighbours in the North next week.

Around 100 activists took to the streets of downtown Seoul to denounce the North Korean government's intentions to launch to put a satellite into orbit somewhere between April 12th and 16th.

Why? To mark the 100th anniversary of the state's founder Kim Il-Sung, of course. Many of the protestors were elders who defied police to burn and slash flags of the pro-North Korean organisation 'The Pan-National Alliance for Korea's Reunification'

Many of the North's neighbours are urging them to halt the process, saying it violates UN Security Council resolutions. China has also stepped in to criticise the state. All this just a week after South Korean media reported that Pyongyang had test-fired missiles off its west coast.